Elemeno P - Gig Review: Elemeno P @ Nectar, Auckland

03 Nov 2018 // A review by Alex Moulton

Nestled within The Kingslander is the Nectar function area, a lovely
warm area, with a wide deep stage area. The only real downside is that the
stage area has a step about four metres away from the stage that could become a
trip and fall hazard during the night depending on how packed the venue is. Not
forgetting that the show was Sold Out. The doors opened, and the crowd slowly gathered,
relaxing and enjoying the mild weather.

First act of the night came from the Emo/Pop-Punk duo carb on carb. Comprised
of James Stuteley on the drums and Nicole Gaffney on the guitar & lead vocals,
they have honed their style well creating a full-bodied sound with minimal
instruments.

Working with a minimal kit, each component of Stuteley’s kit has a
contrasting sound to the other pieces. This combined with the great mic job
done, meant Stuteley was not just keeping time, but was also contributing on
the melodic percussion side of things exhibiting some great tones. Gaffney’s
guitar style appears simple but uses looping effects effortlessly to create a
well-rounded sound, acting as her own rhythm section.

With a very Hayley
Williams (Paramore) meets Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries) there is a confident,
wide ranging vocal melody that has strength and youth interwoven into every
note. Gaffney’s high notes could use a little more projection, but otherwise
the set was vibrant and clean. Banter was a little bit here or there while
tuning, and the crowd that were unaware of the material were caught off-guard
by their style of abrupt ends to the tracks which led to some awkward silences (unsure
of whether to clap or not), but ultimately the set had some good consistent
pace, and received much applause from the crowd.

One of these things is not like the other, was the thought going through my
mind as I waited for the second opening act to hit the stage. Mainard Larkin, otherwise
known as Randa, is a Rap/Hip-hop artist. An interesting choice to have between
the two rockier acts, but if Elemeno P reckon it works, I’m happy to give them
a try.

Randa came out swinging, armed with only a laptop and a microphone, and the
stage looking slightly empty, but they made use of the space moving from
side-to-side as they waxed lyrical. With a very good flow, they rode the beat
well and showed a reasonable level of syllabic variation to keep the tracks interesting.
The physical side of the performance did leave much to be desired, however. Starting out
strong, they were moving a lot, and engaging with the crowd, even at one point
jumping down to the floor to get closer to the audience, but after the first
few songs, the energy did get sapped from the artist and they spent much of the
time simply standing behind the mic stand. With nobody else on stage and no
instruments, the visual appeal was lacking. Still, with good bass and melodies on the
backing tracks, Randa opened a few eyes to a different genre, and created an
audibly pleasant experience.

As the last equipment changeover occurred, the crowd were well and truly
getting into the bar. Instruments were tuned and checked, and as the house
music went quiet mid-song, the crowd rushed forward right up to the front-of-stage.
It wasn’t an early start for the band, however, and what appeared to be the
pre-gig tunes chosen to see if the crowd was ready, with Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So, and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody resulting in beer
pints and phones in the air as they belted out the lyrics, from high operatic
portions to guitar solos.

The time finally came, as headliner Elemeno P took to the stage. After
a short intro they leapt into Burn
and the energy permeating from the crowd was amazing. The room jumped several
degrees in temperature as they started moving, and vocalist Dave Gibson wasted
no time in reminding everyone about the Health & Safety hazard 4 metres
away from the stage.

They thrashed through Ohio,
Baby, and Nirvana without a pause, even when Lani Pukis’ bass started having
some teething issues; but nothing dissuaded the crowd, who were pogoing to
their hearts content. The passion in the crowd was intense, with very few
phones in the air from the 130+ patrons in the venue, they were all living in
the moment and putting in as much energy as I would expect from a Lamb of God
concert. The enthusiasm was mirrored by the band with Purkis frequently climbing
onto the foldbacks to get closer to the audience, and Gibson really having fun
on the Toms every once in a while.

As quickly as the smoke machine could churn out smoke the body heat in
the room was pushing it up, and eventually it was virtually impossible to see
the band, only the bright colours from the spotlights were visible as
everything merged together, and it just encouraged the crowd to try get even
closer.

With a 16-song set, the energy managed to stay high throughout, with
the tired audience members moving back and swapping out with fresh bodies,
there was always movement, jumping, cheering, and singing along as the band
played. Gibson appeared rather impressed with effort from the crowd, even
noticing one person who had brought a tambourine and encouraged the fans to
bring any form of percussive instrument to future shows if they like.

As they
came to the end of their main set, they switched it up with a fantastic cover
of P!nk’s Raise Your Glass, with an
impressive vocal performance from Purkis, before they closed off their set with
Verona, a track that Gibson dedicated
to his wife, who was home looking after their new-born child.

Definitely not a crowd that would be that easily satisfied, they chanted
for an encore, and as would be expected Elemeno P complied, Gibson jumping on
the drums, leaving Scotty Person with no place but the microphone. Turns out
the song choices before the gig were certainly predetermined, with the band
playing another cover this time Weezer’s Say
It Ain’t So, enthusiastically sung by Scotty.

They played through Louder and then during Tahoe the front rowers pushed their way
onto the stage and started dancing with the band; sweaty, topless, and largely
getting in the way, it was good-natured fun for what looked like the last song
of the night. As the band left the stage for the second time, and the house music
started up again, the crowd kept on chanting for “one more song” until the band
relented, pushed most of the crowd back off stage, and finished the night off
with Verlaines.

The definition of a high-energy set, the audience had no time for
photos, they just lived and breathed the music, demanded more when they wanted
it, and Elemeno P are the great souls that will give what the fans want. Easy
to see why the show sold out.

About Elemeno P

Pop music: an expression of the current consciousness of what’s happening. An onomatopoetic description for sure, a boom, a bang that jolts and shakes things around, it can shift and change into many forms, its chameleon nature becomes seductive. Phil Spector called the stuff he did "little symphonies", encapsulated stories about life that has just as much resonance as the high brow classical form he borrowed from. Pop music is the sound of the actual, all the little details of how we live our lives, the soundtrack to our reality.

Elemeno P make pop music that bangs, guitar power pop with big choruses that is an invitation to a party next to a pool with lots of girlies, where the summer is endless and school or work is but a distant memory. Choice.

Dave Gibson describes the band as "We’re just happy people" and Dave is indeed a person full of the jollification that life can bring. But don’t let that cloud your perspective, he has a solid background in musical performance. Playing in a variety of acts: Queen City Big Band, hardcore band Nickel and in 1998 toured Eastern Europe in a band called Elephant, where he broke his back - the fun has to stop sometimes. He’s also somewhat of a of a media veteran, having appeared in numerous commercials and featuring in the film The Locals and also a stint as a radio DJ. Surprisingly finding time to complete a commerce degree, he’s a man who knows what to do and how to do it.

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